Environmental Justice with Indigenous Peoples

Each year, Creation Justice Ministries offers Christian education materials to equip faith communities to reflect on various issues. The resource is written to be useful year-round. Some dates to consider include:Earth Day Sunday on April 23, World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation on September 1, or October 8, the Sunday before Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Find federally recognized tribes through the Tribal Directory Assessment Tool of the Department of Housing and Development (link)

Find federal and state recognized tribes through the National Conference of State Legislatures (link)

PRACTICE ACKNOWLEDGING THE ORIGINAL PEOPLE OF THE LAND WHERE YOU LIVE, WORK, AND PRAY

Consider adding to your email signature, church bulletin, or website some variation of this statement: "We acknowledge that this land is the traditional territory of the _________ peoples. Their presence is imbued in the lands and waters surrounding us. May we nurture our relationship with our Native neighbors, and the shared responsibilities to their homelands where we all reside today."

LEARN, SHARE, & PRACTICE THE JEMEZ PRINCIPLES (PDF)The Jemez Principles can help groups forming partnerships for justice. In 1996, 40 environmental justice leaders met in Jemez, New Mexico, and designed six principles for respectful partnership:

Be inclusive.

Emphasize bottom-up organizing.

Let people speak for themselves.

Work together in solidarity and mutuality.

Build just relationships among ourselves.

Commit to self-transformation.

BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT REPRESENT AND DEFEND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS

STAND WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN PROTECTING SACRED PLACES1. Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from Imminent Threats: Sign the petition to stand with the Gwich'in people of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in their effort to protect their ancestral home and the porcupine caribou on which they rely. Learn more at www.creationjustice.org/arctic2. Advocate to Uphold the Bears Ears National Monument: Sign the petition to stand with the Bears Ears Commission of tribal representatives in efforts to uphold and properly steward the Bears Ears National Monument, the only U.S. national monument that highlights the contributions of tribes.www.creationjustice.org/bears-ears